Welcome to the official headquarters of the “Quay Fortuna for President in ’08” campaign.

Quay Fortuna, author/editor of the blog Armageddon Cocktail Hour, is a 45-year old commentator, businessman and concerned citizen from the Heartland of the U.S. His idiosyncratic, sometimes clever coverage of the global petroleum markets, Iran’s nuclear build-up and the wacky world of biblical prophets, televangelists and antichrist candidates has been extensively hyperlinked throughout the blogosphere, and has collected a lively community of readers.

As founder of the independent Ward Republic Party, Mr. Fortuna believes in local, sustainable solutions for the big challenges Americans face today — including the issues of energy independence, the provision of health care and providing comfort and security to the elderly.

Democrats believe that the federal government can solve the problems of the nation. Republicans believe that individuals should solve their own problems.The Ward Republic Party believes that the future of America lies not in a big federal government or in isolated individuals, but in our communities, working together to achieve common objectives. The Party believes that effective solutions to the problems our country faces need to be designed and implemented at the community level – where people actually live.

In criticizing the top-down view of politicians in Washington, Fortuna echoes the opinion of Thomas Jefferson, who observed that

Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government. Public servants at such a distance, and from under the eye of their constituents, must, from the circumstance of distance, be unable to administer and overlook all the details necessary for the good government of the citizens; and the same circumstance, by rendering detection impossible to their constituents, will invite public agents to corruption, plunder and waste.

However, Fortuna also notes that good government on a human-sized scale is a two-way street: it requires people to stop waiting for a President or a Congress to solve all of their problems, to break out of the comfort of their isolated surroundings, and to get involved in their communities as leaders and do-ers. Remember, folks, it’s not the end of the world!

Issues

As Mr. Fortuna travels around the country during this presidential campaign season, listening to other concerned citizens and articulating a Ward Republic vision for America’s future, you can find his statements on the issues right here:

Presidents can’t solve all your problems, so stop sitting around assuming that they will.In fact, we need to stop sitting around, generally.

Each of us has to examine our own role in providing moral authority within our communities, and we need to exercise courage in seizing the initiative.

We need sustainable, community-level solutions to such issues such as health care, elder care, poverty, and the redefinition of our sources and uses of energy; we need to divide our major problems into smaller, more easily understandable and surmountable units, and to search ourselves and our own ingenuity to conquer them.

The federal government is good at collecting money, but lousy at spending it meaningfully; let the feds collect, let the communities spend.Let the feds enable our communities to tailor solutions to fit local circumstances, 5,000 to 7,000 people at a time.

Local problem-solving will promote greater accountability for failure, corruption, plunder and waste, and will inspire engaged, self-governing communities.

We have a moral obligation as citizens to protect and serve each other in this nation; we have a moral obligation as citizens to help those who are less fortunate than we are in this nation to live with dignity.These obligations are both the price and the joy of liberty and freedom.

The federal government, at its finest, provides a national playing field of fairness and individual human dignity; its greatest role in our society is the mechanisms it provides for the protection of our civil rights.

Capitalism, ingenuity, community and compassion have been the essential elements of America’s success over the past 250 years; by promoting these, we promote America’s future greatness.

A Reading List

Alexander, Christopher, The Nature of Order (Vols. 1-4) (2003-4)
Davis, Mike, Dead Cities, And Other Tales (2003)
Fromkin, David, A Peace to End All Peace: Creating the Modern Middle East 1914-1922 (1989)
Hart, Stuart L., Capitalism at the Crossroads (2nd edition, 2007)
Jefferson, Thomas, The Thomas Jefferson Papers (1606-1827)
Ong, Walter J., Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (2nd edition, 2002)
Petrini, Carlo, Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, and Fair (2007)
Reisner, Marc, Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water (1986)
Schumacher, E.F., Small is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered (1973)
Stiglitz, Joseph, The Three Trillion Dollar War (2008 )
Sullivan, Bob, Gotcha Capitalism: How Hidden Fees Rip You Off Every Day — and What You Can Do About It (2007)

Campaign Stuff

Buy Campaign Pins. Please note that Quay Fortuna is not registered as a candidate for President with the Federal Election Commission, that he is not soliciting campaign funds by this or any other communication, and that all proceeds from the sale of “Quay Fortuna for President” merchandise go directly into Quay Fortuna’s hip pocket for his personal use. (And thanks for buying!)

Help Real People. Presidential candidates have collected more than $500 million in campaign contributions for the 2008 election as of May 2008. Please do not give money to candidates. Try making small loans that will make a huge difference instead — be a micro-lender at Kiva.org.